The silence along the way was broken with the rowdy sounds of the wheels. Occasionally, it was interposed with rattling sounds when the wheels crushed the pebbles or the creaking sounds of the wagon’s wood when one of its wheels rolled over the holes in the road. It was still quite far from the Capital, the 212 Fighter sat down with stretched legs in the rear compartment. His eyes felt drowsy as it was faintly blown by the cool afternoon breeze. Several times had he yawned. The person sitting in front of him constantly looked away with reluctance, or precisely with resentment over seeing this young man who repeatedly yawned and scratched his long-haired head. After few minutes, Wiro Sableng opened his eyes. He stretched. This only aggravated the resentment of the person sitting in front of him.

“Brother, let me have one of your cucumbers…” said Wiro Sableng. Without getting permission from the owner of the vegetables, Wiro Sableng directly took a big cucumber and chomped it. The man in front of Wiro Sableng cursed in silence. He clenched his jaws tightly.

“Rara Murni…” Wiro Sableng abruptly called.

“Do you like cucumber?” at the front compartment, Rara Murni briefly looked at him but did not reply anything.

“Under this heat, it’s so juicy to eat cucumber, thirst-quenching and easy to get…”

“Thank you… I’m not thirsty, Brother…” the girl refused.

“Hmm…” Wiro Sableng mumbled and kept munching on the cucumber, and the wagon continued to move along the dusty and rocky road full of holes. At the rear compartment Wiro Sableng patted his stomach. Three cucumbers had been gobbled down and the looks of the person in front of him became even more embittered. Now Wiro Sableng closed his eyes again. Indeed when the stomach was already full, drowsiness came along. Suddenly the wagon was steered to the dead end which led to the river by its driver. Once the wagon stopped, Rara Murni’s voice could be heard asking:

“Brother, why coming closer and stopping here?” The wagon driver chuckled. His disgusting chuckles abruptly ended and instead came the shocked cry of Rara Murni. And at the rear compartment the farmer sitting in front of Wiro Sableng instantly drew a saber from his waist. Once the saber was unsheathed it was quickly slashed to Wiro Sableng’s head who at that moment still closed his eyes, snoozing comfortably breezed by the gentle wind along the journey! One inch away the saber’s sharp blade would split 212 Fighter’s head, a loud shout thundered.

“Ciaaat!” the farmer attacking him was thrown outside the wagon. He lost his saber and his body sprawled on the ground with a ruptured belly hit by a kick! The man drew his last breath and laid dead! The 212 Fighter’s eyes glared bright.

“F**king little fart!” he cursed and spat on the dead farmer’s face.

“Trying to kill someone while he’s sleeping, now you got it yourself! Puah…!” He spat the dead face once again then turned his head quickly. Rara Murni was struggling to free herself from the vegetable wagon driver’s grip.

“Hmm…so you are just a lecherous thug disguised as a farmer, huh? A wolf in sheep’s clothing… Release the girl or I will crush your head!”

“Damn mangy dog, I gave you a chance to run but you prefer to die!” With his left hand, the wagon driver accublocked Rara Murni. Observing the man’s accublocking technique, The 212 Fighter realized that the man was not merely a simple farmer or wagon driver, but a seasoned warrior in disguise! When the opponent’s weapon swung to his head, Warrior 212 reacted swiftly and would not want to provide an opening. The wagon driver looked with wide eyes when seeing the man he attacked vanished in front of him. His saber’s brutal slash only cleaved a blank spot. This allowed the man to get pushed forward and at that moment he laid his eyes upon his fellow thug lying dead on the ground with ruptured belly!

It sent shivers down the man’s spine. However, it was only for a brief moment. The fear was soon replaced with flaming anger and rage. He did a spinning move with his body, and for the second time his weapon flashed to strike Wiro Sableng. This second strike however turned out to be his death! His weapon again struck a blank spot and before he even had a chance to send the next attack, he could barely see five fingers stretching to reach his forehead, unable to block with his saber and impossible to dodge with whatever speed he could muster!

“Smackkk!” Warrior 212’s right palm stamped the man’s forehead, followed by an agonizing scream. The man was thrown and rolled on the ground unconsciously. The man’s forehead skin blackened like it was burned and the middle of the forehead was branded with the number 212. The man was considered lucky compared to his fellow thug since 212 Fighter did not take his life. Wiro Sableng released the accublocking on Rara Murni’s body.

“It appears today unfortunate events befallen you again and again, Rara” the young man said with a crafty smile. The girl did not say anything. Her face still looked a bit pale. And Wiro Sableng commented again, “Well, look at the bright side. The wagon is now ours. Let’s continue the journey.”

Rara Murni got in the wagon again, while Wiro Sableng drove it. Along the journey the girl was engrossed with her thoughts. The young man sitting next to her was dashingly handsome, but he was also weird and wonky. Besides, the young man’s formidable martial arts she had previously witnessed led her to secretly admire the young man. And up to now Rara Murni did not know the young man’s name at all! Several miles away from the kingdom’s walls, Wiro Sableng stopped the wagon. He turned to the side, then said, “Rara, Pakuan is already in sight. I will stop escorting you here. You can take this wagon slowly, driving it is not hard at all …”

“I just want to remind you, don’t forget to explain everything happened to you to the King. I believe the events you just experienced have more beyond them. It was not impossible that there are other kingdom’s officials who are already compromised and become a rebel like Kalasrenggi…” Rara Murni nodded. Then Wiro Sableng instructed again, “Also don’t forget to dispatch a group of royal guards to the temple in Limanaluk valley to capture Kalasrenggi…”

Rara Murni nodded for the second time. When she saw the long-haired young man turned back to leave, the girl quickly said “Brother…please wait.” The 212 Fighter turned back.

“What is it, Rara…?”

“I haven’t said thank you…”

“Ah…” Wiro Sableng waved his hand,

“No…no, don’t mention it. It was just a coincidence…”

“The King may inquire more about you. I guess it will be better if you go with me to the palace.”

“Thank you. But I have other matters I must attend to Rara…” answered Wiro Sableng.

“Then, if…errrr, if the King asks your name, how should I explain to him?”

Wiro Sableng chortled. “Actually, a name does not mean anything, Rara. We were all born nameless. Our parents were the ones giving us names and it’s just out of habit…”

“So you don’t have a name?” asked Rara Murni.

Wiro Sableng chuckled again, “My name isn’t important, Rara. However, if you are curious just remember these numbers…”

After saying that, he pulled gently a portion of lower fabric of Rara Murni’s clothes. With the tip of his finger, filled with inner power, he wrote the three numbers 212. Rara Murni watched the numbers intently.

“Two one two…” she mumbled. She raised her head to say something to the young man. However, she was shocked to see that in front of her, the young man had already disappeared, as if he was magically swallowed whole by the earth. Rara Murni looked around. But the 212 Fighter was already nowhere to be seen. The girl took a long deep breath.

“Weird young fellow…a bit mischievous…but also pure hearted” Rara Murni thought in silence. She whipped the oxen pulling the wagon, and it moved to the gates of the Capital. Prabu Kamandaka was definitely shocked to receive the news and learned what happened to his younger sister. A group of royal guards were immediately sent to Limanaluk valley. However they arrived late and found the traitor Kalasrenggi had already died, hung upside down with blood flowing from his nostrils, eyes and ears! As for Rara Murni, secretly she ordered several trusted men to track down Wiro Sableng the Fire Dragon Hatchet 212 Martial Artist, however their efforts were to no avail. That day a sweeping was conducted to the whole kingdom, including the inner palace. However the result was not satisfactory at all. Even the leader of the traitors, Raden Werku Alit, remained calm in his place in the luxurious estate of the palace. Who would have guessed that the milk brother of the King himself was the mastermind behind the rebellion? The only culprit arrested during the sweeping was the thug disguised as a farmer who had tried to rape Rara Murni on the road when they journeyed with the wagon. However before he could be brought to the King, the farmer managed to snatch a guard’s sword and cut his own throat, inevitably died where he fell. Who was this farmer’s real identity? Who was his friend previously killed by Warrior 212? Why did the farmer commit suicide? Both of them were actually the rebel spies sent by Mahesa Birawa to rendezvous with Raden Werku Alit and to investigate the situations in Pajajaran on the eve of the full-scale assault! As revealed above, during the journey to the kingdom capital which was Pakuan, they have met Rara Murni, the King’s younger sister, along with a long-haired young man who they thought was Rara Murni’s servant. It was in that moment that they intended to kidnap the girl and take her to the rebel hideouts at the foot of Halimun Mountains. However their action brought harm to themselves in the end. One was killed by the 212 Fighter, while the other one collapsed in the middle of the road and was captured by royal guards but succeeded in committing suicide prior to being brought before the King, before being forced to reveal the information!